I just drink a pint of chocolate milk and a piece of fruit after my commute/fun rides. I ride 6x a week, 100-200 miles a week.
I did start eating protein bars, and I think they help. I added them in at the same time I started lifting 3x a week, and swimming 3x as well. One day a week I sit on my ass and do nothing, physically. I jog a couple miles, 3-4x a week as well. I eat the protein/recovery bars after a multidisciplinary workout, but don't bother if I only did one thing. Unless it was intervals or hills.
My weight loss has hit a plateau, but I do think my fitness is still improving. I'd probably lose weight without the 200-400 calories from a recovery/protein bar, but I'd rather feel great and be more active than be lighter and less active. I'll revisit the scale in 3 months, and see what's happened.
I do think I can push a bit harder, and hard workouts seem to hurt less afterwards when I'm regular about the protein/recovery bars. To me, that's more fun than seeing a smaller number on a scale. Live according to your own priorities.
(though I'd probably be less blasé about the scale if I wasn't seeing visual results in upper body muscle tone and increased fitness on runs/rides. Measuring myself using different progress is a whole lot easier than seeing no progress.)